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The British racing team and Formula One could do with any conclusive outcome in the title fight between Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri getting resolved through on-track action and without resorting to team orders as the championship finale begins this weekend at Circuit of the Americas starting Friday.

Singapore Grand Prix fallout prompts internal strain

With the Marina Bay event’s undoubtedly thorough and stressful debriefs concluded, McLaren will be hoping for a reset. Norris was almost certainly fully conscious about the historical parallels of his riposte toward his upset colleague at the last race weekend. In a fiercely contested championship duel with the Australian, that Norris invoked a famous Senna most famous sentiments did not go unnoticed yet the occurrence which triggered his statement differed completely to those that defined Senna's iconic battles.

“Should you criticize me for simply attempting on the inside of a big gap then you don't belong in Formula One,” Norris said regarding his first-lap move to pass that led to the cars colliding.

The remark appeared to paraphrase Senna’s “If you no longer go an available gap which is there then you cease to be a true racer” defence he provided to Sir Jackie Stewart after he ploughed into Alain Prost in Japan back in 1990, ensuring he took the championship.

Parallel mindset but different circumstances

While the spirit is similar, the phrasing is where the similarities end. Senna later admitted he had no intent of letting Prost to defeat him at turn one while Norris did try to execute a clean overtake at the Marina Bay circuit. In fact, it was a perfectly valid effort which received no penalty even with the glancing blow he made against his McLaren teammate as he went through. That itself stemmed from him touching the car driven by Verstappen ahead of him.

Piastri reacted furiously and, significantly, instantly stated that Norris's position gain was “unfair”; the implication being their collision was forbidden by team protocols of engagement and Norris should be instructed to return the place he had made. McLaren did not do so, yet it demonstrated that in any cases between them, each would quickly ask the squad to step in on his behalf.

Team dynamics and impartiality under scrutiny

This is part and parcel from McLaren's commendable approach to allow their racers compete one another and strive to maintain strict fairness. Aside from creating complex dilemmas when establishing rules over what constitutes just or unjust – which, under these auspices, now includes misfortune, strategy and racing incidents such as in Singapore – there is the question of perception.

Of most import to the title race, six races left, Piastri is ahead of Norris by 22 points, there is what each driver perceives on fairness and at what point their opinion may diverge with that of the McLaren pitwall. Which is when the amicable relationship between the two could eventually – become a little bit more Senna-Prost.

“It will reach to a situation where minor points count,” said Mercedes team principal Wolff after Singapore. “Then calculations will begin and re-calculations and I guess the elbows are going to come out further. That's when it begins to become thrilling.”

Audience expectations and title consequences

For the audience, during this dual battle, increased excitement will probably be welcomed in the form of an on-track confrontation instead of a data-driven decision of circumstances. Not least because in Formula One the alternative perception from all this isn't very inspiring.

Honestly speaking, McLaren is taking appropriate choices for themselves with successful results. They secured their tenth team championship in Singapore (though a great achievement overshadowed by the controversy from the Norris-Piastri moment) and in Andrea Stella as team principal they possess a moral and upright commander who truly aims to do the right thing.

Racing purity versus team management

Yet having drivers competing for the title appealing to the team to decide matters is unedifying. Their competition ought to be determined on track. Luck and destiny will play their part, but better to let them just battle freely and see how fortune falls, than the impression that each contentious incident will be analyzed intensely by the squad to determine if intervention is needed and subsequently resolved afterwards behind closed doors.

The examination will intensify and each time it happens it risks possibly affecting outcomes that could be critical. Previously, after the team made their drivers swap places in Italy due to Norris experiencing a slow pit stop and Piastri feeling he had been hard done by regarding tactics at Hungary, where Norris won, the spectre of a fear about bias also emerges.

Squad viewpoint and future challenges

No one wants to see a title constantly disputed because it may be considered that the efforts to be fair had not been balanced. Questioned whether he felt the team had acted correctly toward both racers, Piastri said he believed they had, but noted it's a developing process.

“We've had several challenging moments and we’ve spoken about a number of things,” he stated post-race. “However finally it's educational for the entire squad.”

Six races stay. The team has minimal room for error for last-minute adjustments, so it may be better to just close the books and withdraw from the conflict.